(November 15, 2011) After a career spent largely in minor league baseball, Jason Troop is going to work for a radio station. An STAA client, Troop is joining KCII in Washington, IA as Sports Director.
“It’s a great opportunity to help build on a sports department that has already developed into a mainstay in southeast Iowa,” says Troop.
In his new job, Troop will gather and write local sports stories, provide play-by-play for local high school sports broadcasts, perform production, update the station web site, conduct interviews for a weekly sports program and do a daily announcer shift. It is a major change from his responsibilities the past two summers as Director of Media and Broadcasting for minor league baseball’s River City Rascals.
“A lot of baseball jobs are seasonal,” says Troop, who has broadcast for three different baseball teams. “I worked in radio back in North Carolina for a while and did some radio work up here [in O’Fallon, MO]. I like it and it seems to be steadier work. Also, the opportunity to call some other sports is another thing I like about the job.”
After seeing the KCII opening on the STAA sports broadcasting job forum, Troop immediately sent the link to his STAA Talent Page. “The process went really quick to be honest with you,” says Troop. “STAA makes it a ton easier to apply for jobs.”
Troop made sure to explain in is cover letter that he wasn’t applying on a whim, that he was genuinely interested in the position. “I know they also liked my experience in radio working with college and pro teams. That certainly helped me out a lot,” Troop says.
A St. Louis-area native, Troop is relocating to a town of just 7,000 residents. However, he is eager for the change. “Washington is rated one of the top 100 small towns in the United States. I could walk to work it I wanted to. Of course, if its minus 20 degrees outside I’m not sure I’m going to be walking anywhere,” Troops grins.